Latest / Only Bombs! Comedy Podcast / ONLY BOMBS! 30: Drew Nickens | The Comedian Who Refused to Quit

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ONLY BOMBS! 30: Drew Nickens | The Comedian Who Refused to Quit · Only Bombs! Comedy Podcast

1:29
Hey Drew, thank you for doing Only Bombs, dude.
1:32
Hell yeah. Yeah, this is going to be a good time.
1:35
Yeah, man. Yeah, it's going to be a lot of fun,
1:37
dude. So I wanted to start by kind of telling
1:40
you, I've been telling my girlfriend, this is
1:42
kind of a full circle kind of moment, because
1:45
a few years ago, it was back in like 24, I think.
1:49
That was your first appearance, right? 6 '65,
1:51
I think? Yeah, yeah. So my appearance was 6 '70.
1:58
Right. And, but prior to that, I remember telling
2:00
my girlfriend, I'm like, yeah, I want to go on
2:02
Kill Tony. So she was like, well, what's Kill
2:04
Tony? And then we watched the episode and it's
2:06
the episode that you, you were on. And she really,
2:10
she, she was like, I really liked this guy. And
2:12
I was like, yeah, man. I'm like, we really, like,
2:14
I was like, we, we just do, we loved you. You
2:16
came in at the right time in our lives. Cause
2:19
we were just like blossoming. We were just starting
2:21
off. And so, like, so she sees Kill Tony. She
2:25
sees you. She loves it. She loves the show. And
2:27
then I go on Killtony, dude, and I get off Killtony
2:31
and you're actually like right behind the curtain.
2:34
And I was like, oh! Drew Nickens. I was like,
2:39
Oh my God. I met, I kind of met Drew Nickens.
2:41
He said, he said my set was good, babe. And then,
2:44
uh, and then so I went back home and I was like,
2:46
I told her and then so fast forward a few years
2:48
later, you know, and here, here we are now. And
2:51
I was like, babe, this is crazy. I'm like, dude,
2:54
we got Drew Nickens. Can you believe it? Like,
2:57
you know, but what, but man, what I loved like
2:59
right off the bat was. was, of course, your positivity.
3:03
And it also seemed like you were just extremely
3:05
fearless in everything, like with the way that
3:08
you did your jokes. Man, I just really thoroughly
3:11
enjoyed your character as a person. So I'm really
3:14
happy to have you on. So thank you so much for
3:16
coming on. Appreciate you. Yeah, this is going
3:18
to be... I like doing these type of things because
3:22
they get to see a little bit more than just what's
3:25
on Giltone. So it's like... you get to see more
3:30
where I don't have all that adrenaline and there's
3:33
350 people and moving pieces around and you've
3:36
got to kind of zone in and you have this brand
3:39
that you're identifying with and everything of
3:42
that nature. So, yeah, I like these things. Hell
3:46
yeah, man. So, like, have you always, like, sort
3:49
of had that sort of onstage persona? Like, is
3:52
that, or is that something that kind of developed
3:53
over time? Okay. So I was dog water the first
3:56
four years of standup. I was not very good. And
3:58
it was also because I didn't have an identity
4:01
at the time. And I was, I was doing mics in DFW
4:05
and I wasn't getting booked, but I was working
4:09
on material, trying to find my identity, trying
4:11
to find exactly where I was. And I wasn't getting
4:16
any shows. So it didn't feel like I need, I was
4:19
motivated at the time to like really try. And
4:23
then I. it clicked, I was like, you know what,
4:25
I'm really going to try this stand -up stuff,
4:28
really going to figure it out. And that's when
4:30
I started doing like really high energy. And
4:33
once I started doing that high energy and that
4:35
fun, happy, I'm glad to be on stage, which I'm
4:41
always am, but I feel like I've made it to where
4:45
I personify that a little bit more on stage.
4:50
And by doing that, The audience is now like,
4:54
wow, okay, this guy wants to be here. He's having
4:57
fun and he's for us. And once I realized that,
5:00
and I started really clicking with that for a
5:03
year, I started, my, my sets started taking off.
5:06
My material started getting better because I
5:07
found out that's where I wanted to be. When it
5:11
came to the energy level, the mood level of when
5:13
I'm, when I'm performing and kind of how do I
5:16
get this audience to want to rock with me? And
5:20
once I felt that and I understood that, everything
5:23
started clicking. And then about a year in of
5:27
doing that, so five years in, I started signing
5:30
up for Kill Tony because I couldn't get booked
5:32
in Dallas. I couldn't get a show anywhere except
5:36
for Noah Shark Robinson. Shout him out. He's
5:40
one of the only guys that gave me time to actually
5:44
get on stage and be in front of a real audience.
5:47
And I developed through there. But I was like,
5:50
you know what? No one else is taking a look at
5:52
me. I'm going to the mics. I'm doing the hangs.
5:54
I'm trying to do everything right. I'm just going
5:57
to go to kill Tony. And that's when I started
5:59
going for about 48 weeks. And after 48, week
6:03
48, I got pulled and everything kind of, everything
6:07
just went, whoa. It went a little crazy after
6:10
that. So. Dude, I can only imagine, man, like.
6:14
And, uh, and unfortunately, like, I don't really
6:16
have the same story you do, like, cause my experience
6:19
was that I got pulled like right at my first
6:22
fucking time I signed up. So I was like, I was
6:24
like one of those kinds of people. And so I didn't
6:26
really have the, uh, the, I guess, um, what do
6:30
you say? Like, but basically I didn't have like
6:32
the. the thing that people have like when they're
6:34
just trying for so long, you know, to get on
6:37
the show. And you're not the only one with that
6:39
story. There's a ton of comics out there. Like
6:40
you've been trying for like a year, like two
6:42
years, that kind of thing. There's a guy named
6:45
Joe Newcomer who's been signing up for 109 weeks.
6:49
He hasn't gotten on. But whenever he gets on,
6:51
I think it's going to be a really special one
6:53
because he's a Barker slash store guy. He's always
6:58
coming. He's been, he'd lived a full life. Very
7:02
interesting. So you see guys like that. You see
7:04
guys who've been trying and you know, they understand
7:08
how important it is because they haven't been
7:12
pulled and they finally get that shot. They're
7:15
like, okay, I can't miss. When you, when you
7:17
get on the first time, you don't have that same
7:22
appreciation because you didn't slum it in Shakespeare's
7:26
or poor choices with everyone else. You weren't.
7:29
you're in a bad mood, but you still got to be
7:31
around a bunch of craziness and everything of
7:34
that nature. But how did you feel about your
7:41
interview and everything? So I didn't really
7:46
prepare at all for the interview, so I didn't
7:48
feel like it went well at all. But it was kind
7:51
of interesting because I played music and that
7:54
wasn't really anything that I was expecting to
7:56
do. It just, uh, you know, like I wasn't like
8:00
a super fan of Kill Tony. It just, it was something
8:02
more like my, at the time, like more my brother
8:04
was into. I just kind of did it. Like, you know,
8:07
and, and then, uh, Shane Gillis was on there.
8:10
Um, and that was really cool. Uh, was it the
8:13
Shane Gillis, uh, James McCann? Yeah. Oh, okay.
8:16
That's a good one. That's a good episode too.
8:18
It was a good episode. It was a lot of fun. And,
8:20
um, and yeah, dude, like they were like, is there
8:22
anything else about you? And then I said, you
8:24
know, I played music and then I get up there
8:26
and I played music and. you know, that's no big
8:28
deal. But at the same time, I was just kind of
8:30
like, like, whoa, man, like, what the hell just
8:32
happened? You know, like I couldn't believe it.
8:35
And, you know, I was like, wow, this is this
8:37
is insane. You know, but I also walked away thinking,
8:40
I'm like, man, I have a lot to learn. That was
8:41
not as easy as I thought it was going to be.
8:44
I think I think one thing is to is like people
8:47
don't understand the magnitude of it when you're
8:49
on stage. Right. Like when you understand that
8:52
two million to three million people, especially
8:54
at that time, it was about 1 .7 to 2 .2 million
8:58
average during 670. Like those cameras, there's
9:05
millions of people watching in there. And so
9:08
you don't understand it and you get off and you're
9:10
like, well, that's 2 .2 million are going to
9:15
see my face on this show. And like, I can only
9:19
imagine how many people are watching Netflix
9:21
and like how much has grown from there. It's
9:26
such a weird feeling when you're like, I just
9:30
played music in front of 2 .2 million people.
9:33
Yeah, dude, it was jarring. Yeah, man, it was
9:37
jarring. Like, I remember, so I remember, I was
9:42
out in poor choices at the time, and I remember
9:44
walking across the street, getting to behind
9:47
the curtain, and I forgot the fella's name who
9:49
was there, but he was very, very nice guy, you
9:52
know, being very encouraging to me. And I guess
9:55
I didn't realize, like, what I was walking into.
9:58
Oh, Billy, yeah. Billy. Shout out Billy Shields.
10:02
Billy Shields? Hell yeah. Billy Shields, that's
10:04
the man. Yeah, he was really cool. And he was
10:08
being very encouraging to me, even though he
10:11
had no idea, like, what my comedy was or anything.
10:13
He's like, dude, you're gonna do great. All this
10:15
stuff. And I'm sitting there like, okay, I'm
10:17
gonna do okay. I'm gonna do great. And then fucking
10:19
Joe Rogan walks in. And then I was like, I'm
10:22
fucking freaking out. I'm like, dude, this isn't
10:25
good. This isn't good. I'm like, oh, no. I'm
10:28
like, I'm going to fuck this up so bad, dude.
10:30
And I went out there. And fucking, dude, I barely
10:33
remember my set. But I do remember just the first
10:36
thing I thought. And I don't know if you thought
10:38
the same thing. But I do remember being like,
10:40
damn, this stage is fucking small, dude. The
10:45
first thing that I thought was, okay, let's get
10:48
through this minute so we can get to the interview.
10:51
Because I was like, the minute might be okay.
10:56
It just depends on if that first punch lands
10:58
and my first punch did not land. And I've watched
11:05
my first minute because... My first joke is always,
11:09
I got a brain injury. That's why I sound like
11:11
I took a lot of Benadryl before I came on stage.
11:14
Usually really hits. But what I realized is with
11:18
Kill Tony, they didn't know what I was doing.
11:21
They didn't know if I was a character. They didn't
11:23
know if I was faking it. They didn't know how
11:26
to read me. So that whole minute they weren't
11:31
there to laugh. They were like, what the fuck
11:34
is this guy? And so once I got into the interview
11:37
and they got to know, Oh, that's not a character.
11:40
He actually is the way he is and everything in
11:42
that nature of the interview. I feel like the,
11:45
the minute is the chore. The interview is the
11:51
reward. Cause you get to have fun. You get to.
11:55
Like Tony will drive the interview, but you get
11:58
to show your creativity. You get to show how
12:01
your comedic instincts, everything in that nature.
12:03
I enjoyed the interviews. I dreaded the minute
12:07
sometimes, but I knew the interview, something
12:11
magical could happen. So it was like, that's
12:15
how I kind of view it. Now I focus on the minute.
12:19
The minute is my job. The minute is I got to
12:22
figure everything out. I got to figure out punches.
12:25
I got to figure out timestamps on, on tags. I
12:28
have to figure out, okay, what am I, what am
12:30
I going to do to get this audience to wake up?
12:35
Because what if there's somebody crazy, like
12:37
the last minute I had where there was a literal
12:40
stalker arm right before me. What do I have to
12:45
do to wake this audience up and get them to not
12:48
think about that? Right. because I know, and
12:53
for the first couple months, I was bomb squad.
12:56
I had to go in right after someone ruined the
13:00
room, where it was awkward. So now my thinking
13:04
is how can I wake this audience up? What material
13:08
can I do? How do I get it down to a science?
13:12
And like the way that I do my minutes now is
13:14
I literally will put a timer up. And I will go,
13:18
okay, here's a tag at seven. Here's a tag at
13:21
14. Here's a tag. Uh, here's my setup and punch.
13:25
Okay. That's 15 seconds. Uh, it might be 17 if
13:28
I put a pause in there. Do I have enough time
13:31
for that pause? What, how do I keep it moving?
13:34
Oh, I feel like I might lose them here because
13:36
when I do it out in the real audience, I've,
13:39
I've lose them 30%, 40 % of the time that I'm
13:43
doing that joke. What can I do to shore that
13:45
up? And so the, the, there's so much work in
13:48
the minute now, uh, that people don't get to
13:52
see when it comes to that type of stuff. Yeah.
13:55
I guess they don't see how many minutes go into
13:58
that minute, you know, but, um, Did a, so there
14:02
are jokes that you told on Kiltoni and the jokes
14:04
that you prepared like now for like any kind
14:06
of minute or anything like that. Like do you,
14:08
uh, like how do you find your jokes? Is it all
14:11
like a personal kind of experience? Do you always
14:13
hit on that personal thing or? I have a lot of
14:16
personal experience. Uh, sometimes I'll have
14:18
like, uh, silly, silly stuff where I'm like,
14:23
Oh, I have a shower thought. That's funny. How
14:26
can I make this into a joke? How do I set it
14:28
up? How do I get a punch? Like, uh, stoner thoughts,
14:31
uh, the one where I came back in October, the
14:34
stoner thoughts thing was like, man, I was watching
14:37
a craps video and I was like, I was looking at
14:39
the dice and I go, dog, that's a 3d domino because
14:43
it's just like, it's a cube, but it's dominoes.
14:47
That's insane. So dominoes are just flat dice.
14:51
Boom. Whoa, that's funny. What else can I think
14:54
of? Oh, trans man has a better beard than me.
14:57
He's cheating because he's using performance
15:00
enhancing drugs. Oh, boom. Like, like finding
15:03
those little funny moments where you're like,
15:05
oh, wow, that makes sense. How do I set it up?
15:08
How do I make it funny? How do I, how do I set
15:10
her up? How do I have the punch? And when I'm
15:13
doing like longer sets or like a longer joke,
15:16
how do I keep them entertained? Where do I, where
15:20
do Where can I differentiate where they don't
15:23
know where it's going? Because you want that
15:25
surprise finder. So I do a lot of personal stuff
15:29
because my life is kind of crazy and I have a
15:32
lot of unique things about me that people don't
15:37
know. Like I was Mormon until I was 13, you know,
15:41
little things like that that people don't know
15:43
about me that I think, Oh, how can I make this
15:46
funny? How can I? give them a little peek into
15:50
my life, but also make them laugh while I do
15:54
that. Yeah. Because I feel like when they know
15:59
it's real, the funnier it is. Because people
16:04
can smell out a lie. Yeah. They really can't.
16:08
Right. There's one thing I kind of learned from
16:11
the show. I think in like listening to comedians
16:13
explain their experiences, it's usually be authentic.
16:17
You know, what was your, um, like how do your
16:20
jokes differ now than back then? Like when you
16:25
first started kind of thing. I'm more methodical.
16:27
I know what I know how to set up and punch. I
16:30
kind of mechanically. I'm getting better at the
16:35
mechanics of joke writing and finding how to.
16:40
Get an audience in then relieve the pressure
16:44
building tension finding Finding how to utilize
16:48
silence finding like the little things about
16:51
being a comedian that you don't learn Until you
16:55
start getting to the upper upper level where
16:57
you're doing shows and showcases And you're around
17:01
some of the best comedians in the world where
17:02
you're learning Wow Silence is a weapon. It's
17:06
not you're doing bad. Sometimes silence is because
17:09
they want to know what's going to happen next.
17:11
So you have their complete attention. So sometimes
17:15
like learning little things like that. So now
17:17
my joke writing has become, okay, I have this
17:21
premise. How do I punch it up? How do I keep
17:25
their attention? How do I get the biggest last
17:28
pop laugh possible at the end? So it's, it's
17:32
all. Trying to figure out how to give the audience
17:36
the best experience Yeah, yeah, and you mentioned
17:39
like a moment ago about how you throw your tags
17:41
in and like specific times and everything like
17:44
that and And it's like a part of the it's part
17:46
of the rhythm of like joke -telling You know
17:48
you can tell like you know like okay cool. They
17:50
haven't had a laugh in a while You know, but
17:53
what I love that you mentioned is I love that
17:55
you mentioned the silence, you know, it's um
17:58
Because that is almost equally as important as
18:02
having you know is having those tags in there.
18:06
Sometimes I could see a comedian who is not doing
18:09
as bad as they think they are, and then they
18:11
feel the silence, and then they panic, and then
18:13
they're like, oh yeah, sorry, that wasn't so
18:16
good. It literally breaks my concentration when
18:19
I was actually paying attention to them initially.
18:21
Well, it's that anti -meta, okay, let me - Um,
18:26
you remember WCW in the 2000s? Do you watch pro
18:29
wrestling at all? Um, no, I didn't really watch
18:32
it. So, so WCW, the 2000s, they, they started
18:36
doing this thing where they started pulling the
18:39
curtain a little bit, where they started using
18:41
terms like shoot and kayfabe and all this where
18:44
they were peeling back. Well, this is a show
18:47
and what's happening right now is real. It's
18:50
not, this is off the cuff and it wasn't authentic.
18:54
And so. When you do things like that, like, oh
18:57
man, that didn't do well. You're peeling back
19:00
the curtain of, okay, things aren't going well.
19:06
I'm having, I'm panicking right now. And instead
19:09
of sticking to your material and understanding,
19:13
cause like my buddy, Matt Hector, he said, silence
19:16
is a weapon. They're paying attention to you.
19:21
Sometimes you just have to embrace it and and
19:24
use it as a weapon. Use that tension so when
19:27
you relieve that tension, man, that joke's gonna
19:30
be even better because they're locked in. And
19:34
I think a lot of younger comics don't understand
19:39
that some audiences, they are gonna be silent
19:43
until you can relieve the pressure once they
19:46
see the punch, once they feel that punch. So
19:49
don't panic. Don't go anti -meta and... Oh man,
19:54
this and that or like acknowledge a train wreck.
20:00
Like keep going and put your effort, put a lot
20:05
of effort in so they know, okay, he's really
20:09
trying to make us laugh. Let's be more open to
20:12
this. And you might be able to turn them around.
20:15
Yeah. Yeah. So to kind of go back a little bit.
20:21
touch base on it. Was doing comedy something
20:25
that you knew you wanted to do for a long time?
20:31
I loved stand -up comedy for a long time. My
20:36
favorites were Like It Seasons, Ari, Wanda Sykes,
20:39
Sinbad, David Spade, Jaboukie and White, Sam
20:44
Jay. A bunch of different type of comics that
20:47
I love to watch. as you could see, a lot of different
20:52
types of styles. And so I have always kind of
20:56
been a funny guy. I'm a very extrovert. So I
21:03
was like, you know what, let's give it a try.
21:05
And I did a mic and I did a long five minute
21:09
story that was terrible. But I got hooked on
21:16
it. I was like, I want to kind of do this. I
21:19
want to explore this. And the growing pains weren't
21:23
easy because I wasn't developing at the pace
21:27
as most people develop at because I, you know,
21:31
my brain injuries. So it took me a little bit
21:33
longer to grab hold of some concepts that most
21:37
people grab hold of a lot sooner. But I like
21:42
to call myself good barbecue because it's a low
21:46
and slow process. Right. And I'm figuring it
21:49
out as I go. And I've really, so I, I'm glad
21:57
I did this, you know, I'm glad I stuck with it
22:00
because there were some times where like three
22:03
years in I was doing one mic a month just because
22:06
I, the grind was so... tough and trying to, oh,
22:12
I'm not getting any shows. I've been at these
22:14
mics for two years. Everybody knows me. I'm a
22:18
staple at this mic. Shout out to Mad Hatter and
22:21
Fort Worth. I was a staple at that mic. I love
22:26
that mic. It was a little bar mic at 10 PM. And
22:29
if you were funny, you were funny, but if you
22:32
weren't, it was brutal. Wow. So what is something
22:38
that you kind of learned that was sort of like
22:41
a pivotal moment in your comedy. Energy, man.
22:45
Like, understanding that if you act like you
22:48
want to be there and that you're happy to be
22:50
there and you want them to have a great time,
22:53
you're not just doing it so you can get to point
22:57
A to point B because you're trying to get noticed
23:01
by this scout. or you're trying to go viral,
23:04
but you're there to just have a good time and
23:07
tell jokes and make sure that the audience is
23:09
giving the best experience, then you're not going
23:14
to be successful. It's all about putting your
23:17
full effort in to what you're doing. And I think
23:21
that's when I learned that and because I'm a
23:24
high energy guy and I started utilizing that
23:27
energy. It made me a lot more successful on stage
23:37
and getting pops and getting, oh wow, this guy,
23:40
we really like him. And I see it all the time
23:42
now. I went up at a Sand Jack on Saturday and
23:48
there were seven people, but I gave my heart
23:51
out to them. I was sweating and I was having
23:53
such a fun time and I could tell they were enjoying
23:56
it too. And I was like, okay. No matter what's
24:00
going on if you if you especially Every time
24:04
you go on stage and put in that effort then you'll
24:07
never have to turn it on Because it's already
24:11
your muscles already flex. You're already like,
24:14
oh man, I'm gonna give him my all here Gonna
24:16
give him my all here You know, so yeah, I remember
24:21
going up quite a bit I still I still have issues
24:23
I kind of with this like I remember going up
24:25
quite a bit and like it wasn't necessarily like
24:28
the nervousness for telling the jokes. It was
24:31
more like the nervousness for like, uh, just
24:34
like, I guess, like not telling a joke the way
24:36
that I wanted to tell it. Right. So what is like
24:40
some like kind of fears that you like still are
24:42
trying to overcome on stage? Uh, some of the
24:46
fears I do is like, uh, if the material isn't
24:50
landing and I have to carry, I still have to
24:55
have that same energy because I've been, I've
24:57
been closing secret show. for the last couple
24:59
months now. Red Band's been giving me that privilege.
25:04
And there have been some nights where they're
25:08
tired and I say a punch line and I don't get
25:13
the same response. And my biggest fear is, well,
25:18
now I'm not going to be successful because now
25:25
I'm showing weakness. then they can see it on,
25:29
I know they can see it on my face because I can
25:32
see it on my face and I'm not even looking at
25:34
myself. I know that I'm giving an adverse reaction.
25:38
Now this set can go downhill. And my worst bomb,
25:44
I was three months into comedy and I was in Cherie
25:48
Port, Louisiana and I did a show at a casino
25:52
called Sam's Town and I was doing 30 minutes.
25:57
Whoa, and they and and they didn't tell me Ten
26:03
until 20 minutes before hey, this is a PG -13
26:08
show. Oh, no, you get one f -ball. Oh No, dude.
26:13
Yeah And let me tell you, there was a senator
26:17
having a birthday party there. There was 250
26:20
people in this lobby. Oh, yes. This is fucking
26:23
awesome, dude. And when I tell you, you know,
26:27
it was my worst bomb for a long time until the
26:31
Trump -Biden episode came up and the minute didn't
26:35
go well. In the interview, I salvaged it with
26:38
me and Adam Ray. Adam Ray, one of the best in
26:40
the business. We had a dance battle. We, we kind
26:43
of picked it up, but I was so upset with my minute
26:46
and I was like, man, 6 million people are going
26:48
to watch this. And now it has almost 30 million
26:51
views. That's wild, dude. That is wild. But,
26:54
but, but like, I always flash back to it because
26:58
it felt like once you lose the crowd, it's like
27:01
how my biggest fear is I'm never going to be
27:04
able to get them back because I've had to happen.
27:07
Sure. And when you had that happen, now that's
27:10
like your biggest fear is like. You lose them
27:12
for a second and you can't get them back. You're
27:15
like, Oh no, I failed. Right. And that's my biggest
27:18
fear. It's like, I trust my material. I trust
27:21
the work I'm putting in. I trust, uh, my instincts
27:24
being able to be in the moment. But if I lose
27:28
them and I keep, and I can't get them back, that's
27:31
my biggest fear. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. I've seen that
27:35
happen like to myself, like so many times, you
27:37
know, where it just kind of like. I'm not the
27:40
comic that these people want, you know what I
27:43
mean? I'm like, because I'm also kind of the
27:45
same way. I'm like, I'm very, very animated on
27:48
stage and everything like that. And so sometimes
27:50
there's like, I have to give myself like pep
27:52
talks, like, all right, come on, give it your
27:54
all, that kind of thing. Do you have any like,
27:56
sort of like... like pre -show ritual that you
27:58
do to kind of help ease your mind for those kinds
28:00
of things. So I do, I bounce around like, yeah,
28:03
you ever watch amateur wrestling, you know, the
28:06
college and high school wrestlers? Yeah. I always
28:08
bounce. I would bounce. Bouncing, getting into
28:11
the groove and understanding, okay, I'm about
28:14
to get on stage. Yeah. Nothing else matters for
28:18
this five, 10, 15, 30 minutes, 45 minutes. All
28:23
that matters is what's going on on stage. Yeah.
28:26
and kind of just locking into the fact that this
28:28
is what, this is my art form. This is what I'm
28:31
getting, you know, this is what I'm getting paid
28:33
to do, or this is what I was invited to do. That's
28:36
all that matters right now. Yeah. Everything
28:38
else zoned out. And so once you understand it,
28:42
that's my mindset is what's going on on stage
28:46
is the, is the, is, is the only thing that matters.
28:52
Now I'm ready to roll. Hell yeah. Oh yeah, dude.
28:56
Did, um, so like, how is, uh, how has your life
28:59
like changed? And did you see that change? Like,
29:04
did you, did you, like all the stuff with Kill
29:06
Tony, did you foresee that happening? I, I, uh,
29:10
so I didn't know if I was going to be an old
29:12
ticket or regular or anything. I didn't know.
29:15
I, I was just trying to have a really, really
29:17
good appearance. So people would book me in Dallas.
29:21
That was the main goal was. to get on a platform
29:24
that I can show my talents and to get a little
29:27
bit more, to get a couple of followers and to
29:30
get some people's attention in Dallas to be like,
29:33
Oh man, that guy's funny. Let's get him here.
29:35
Let's get him there so I can get booked more.
29:38
That was my main goal of getting on Kiltunny
29:40
was so I can showcase my skills because people
29:43
weren't letting me get on stage places. Yeah.
29:47
or putting me on shows and they were putting
29:50
on one year comics and I was a four or five year
29:53
comic at the time, six year comic. I was like,
29:57
I can't get a five minute spot here. I can't
30:00
get 10 minutes over here. Okay. Well then I'm
30:02
going to try and make my own thing happen by
30:06
going here on Kill Tony. And there were a couple
30:08
of Dallas comics that were like, why are you
30:10
going to Kill Tony every week? You should drive
30:12
two and a half hours to McKinney and come hang
30:14
out here. And it was like, no, because I'm not
30:17
trying, why would I drive two and a half when
30:19
I could drive three and get on Killtonia and
30:22
maybe something even crazier could happen. And
30:25
so I didn't foresee like a golden ticket or a
30:28
regular ship or anything of that nature. I thought
30:30
it was just going to be a good fun moment and
30:32
I was going to have a great time. And from there,
30:39
maybe I was going to get more bookings and I
30:41
was going to keep signing. I wasn't going to
30:43
sign up as often. I wasn't going to go every
30:45
week. I was going to maybe go once a month and
30:48
then I was going to try and go to Dallas and,
30:49
you know, try to work the scene that I was at.
30:53
So I didn't foresee any of that happening. And
30:57
maybe I was thinking small, but I was just like,
30:59
you know, I just want to get up on stage and
31:02
get booked. Right. Yeah. And now I'm a working
31:06
comic and it's like, that's... That's the goal.
31:09
Everybody wants to be a working comic. They want
31:11
to be able to go on stage. They want to go do
31:13
shows, showcases, everything of that nature.
31:16
That's the goal. There you go. It seems like
31:18
now you're just living the dream, man. You're
31:21
doing your thing. What lessons are you learning
31:27
each show now? Is it just honing your craft continuously?
31:32
Is it the constant search for new material? How
31:36
is it different? Living in Austin, what I've
31:38
realized is you have to be doing something new
31:41
every couple of months. You can't do the same
31:45
10 minutes everywhere. If you do the same 10
31:49
minutes, People will stop booking you because
31:52
you have to keep evolving. You have to keep pushing
31:55
yourself. So I'm always trying to do new material.
31:58
I've also learned that there's another, the business
32:01
side of things. Cause I handle my own bookings.
32:05
I negotiate my own percents. I'm handling my
32:08
own merch. So I'm doing all that too. So I'm
32:11
learning the business sense of comedy because
32:14
they don't tell you about any of the business
32:15
stuff. I was just about to say that very same
32:17
thing, dude. You learn on the fly. You take the
32:21
losses. I did a gig in my hometown. I sold it
32:28
out. I was supposed to get a bonus and he withhold
32:31
$300 of my $500 bonus. And it was a learning
32:38
lesson of, okay, now that that happened, now
32:41
I'm never going to let that happen again. Right.
32:43
Let me figure that out. So I'm learning on the
32:46
fly when it comes to bookings, to dealing with
32:49
club owners and bar shows and produce a lot of
32:52
independent producers. Cause I do a lot of independent
32:54
shows and I love it across the country. It's
32:57
great. But I've learned so much in. in doing
33:02
that, and I'm constantly trying to get up 90
33:05
minutes a week of stage time. I'm constantly
33:08
trying to figure out, you know, I did a kill
33:11
to any minute, it bombed, but now I'm a better
33:14
comic. How can I circle back and make this a
33:16
better minute? How can I make this one minute
33:19
into a three minute bit with a lot more laughs
33:21
and a lot more structure? Because I think that's
33:25
the problem that I had when it came to a lot
33:28
of my minutes. earlier in my Killthorne career
33:32
was there wasn't a lot of structure. There wasn't
33:34
a lot of set up, knock down, because I was still
33:38
learning that. I was still kind of getting the
33:41
mechanics of the, of joke writing. Yeah. And
33:45
so now I'm doing stuff that I, that had been,
33:48
has been in the attic for a while. And I'm like,
33:51
wow, there's a whole other angle here I can find.
33:54
And oh, here I can do this and this and this
33:57
and oh. You know, now I can enter, I can do crowd
34:01
work with this and interject crowd work and then
34:05
interject it into the material and do little
34:08
things like that. So it's like I'm learning day
34:11
by day how I can improve. My, um, how good, uh,
34:18
by my, my act, my, my headlining shows, my 20
34:23
minutes, my 15, you know, cause A lot of what
34:26
you're doing, you're not doing 45 minutes sets
34:28
all the time. You're doing a lot of 15s, doing
34:31
a lot of 20s, a lot of 10s. How can I maximize
34:35
the amount of fun that the audience is going
34:37
to have with me any time limit that they give
34:40
me? Yeah. Do you ever try to do like crowd work
34:44
or anything like that to you? So the way that
34:46
I do crowd work is I have, I'll ask people questions
34:50
that pertain to the material I'm doing. I'm working
34:55
on a joke that involves Harry Potter, and I ask
34:59
people what their favorite characters are. Whenever
35:02
they say their favorite character is, I have
35:05
a tag for that. I have something I can riff off
35:08
of or I have some idea to get a laugh, to get
35:13
a pop. I was doing an open mic in Tulsa, Oklahoma
35:19
and I did. I did a, hey, who's your favorite
35:22
character to this girl? And she said, well, I
35:25
love Neville Longbottom. And I said, oh man,
35:28
you must fuck anyone, man. And it worked because
35:32
it was like, okay, boom. That's funny because
35:35
she likes the most weebiest dude in the world.
35:39
I love Neville as a character, but man, okay,
35:42
I can connect that or hey, what do you do for
35:45
a living? How did you get your girl? What pickup
35:48
line did you use? Cause I have a pickup line
35:50
joke. And so I'm able to interject it and move
35:55
it towards my material. And I'm able to get an
35:58
extra laugh through that crowd work. I'm not
36:00
doing, Hey, what's your name? What do you do
36:02
for a living? I don't do that. Right. Because
36:05
I feel like that's, that's basic. But if I can
36:07
tie a crowd work question into my material. It
36:13
makes it even more authentic because then you're
36:16
still getting those magical moments of crowd
36:18
work, but you're also relying on your material
36:21
and trusting your material. Yeah. And you're
36:23
using it as a tool instead of a copy. Yeah. Yeah.
36:27
I, um, I love doing like crowd work. uh just
36:30
like that i had this dude um once who had like
36:33
um a tie -dye shirt on and instead i'm the same
36:38
kind of way like because that was like when i
36:39
do crowd work or if i do kind of any kind of
36:41
crowd work i'm not going to do the whole like
36:42
you know what's your name where do you work you
36:43
know like are you guys on a date You know, because
36:46
I just, you know, I find that beat the hell,
36:48
but, you know, I basically just made up this
36:50
whole thing around him just having a tie dye
36:52
shirt and me being colorblind. And so looking
36:54
at it is like a fucked up Rorschach for me. And
36:57
it just basically just going off on like this
36:59
whole thing and be like, dude, I don't know,
37:01
but you're kind of making me feel weird emotionally.
37:02
And then this dude like lifts up his shirt. Like
37:05
literally in front of everybody and says got
37:07
LSD and I was like, wow That's exactly what I
37:10
thought would happen to somebody with in a tie
37:12
-dye shirt. That's it. I am so not surprised
37:15
right now And then he rode off on a scooter.
37:18
It was just it was that tiniest so it was outside,
37:21
you know Like threw a possum on his back But
37:24
um, but yeah, man, it's kind of like yeah what
37:26
you were saying like just rolling with the punches
37:28
and just kind of like, you know, just going with
37:30
what you learned kind of thing. And I like doing
37:33
like fun roofs too. Like I'll see someone and
37:36
I'll be like, man, you guys look like you guys
37:38
met at the farmer's market. Or, Hey, you look
37:41
like you fuck at corn concerts. You know, little,
37:45
little things like that where I'm getting them
37:47
involved. And then like, I'll have characters
37:49
throughout my set. Like, Hey, what's up Taekwondo?
37:52
Hey, hey, team Joe Biden. What you think about
37:56
that? Well, yeah. I try to world build a little
38:01
bit during my shows where I have these characters
38:04
that people can relate to during the show. Especially
38:07
like a 45 minute show where they're like, whoa,
38:11
this is fun. This is a magical moment that only
38:14
we are going to have. And then, you know, a year
38:17
later they're like, Hey man, I was this guy.
38:19
And I'm like, Oh snap, what's up? Because they
38:22
were characters. So you're world building throughout
38:24
the show. So every experience is different. Yeah.
38:28
And so that's really what I've been working on
38:33
when it comes to crowd work and getting the audience
38:38
involved in that regard. Do you have a particular
38:42
comedian who inspires you to do things like that?
38:46
Or inspires you at all, actually? Do you have
38:48
any kind of comedian who inspires you at all?
38:49
So a lot of my inspiration, I love Ralphie. Ralphie
38:54
May. Oh, yeah. I love Ralphie, I love Aziz, Sinbad,
39:01
Juan de Sykes, David Spade, that's kind of my
39:03
top five. And then Patrice, Jaboukie Van White,
39:09
he's incredible. He's Aaron Chan, another incredible
39:14
comedian. And then there's guys that aren't my
39:16
style, but I can learn from them the way that
39:19
they're, like Joe Para is very. Low energy, very
39:24
methodical, very slow with his delivery, but
39:27
he's amazing too. So it's like, I learned from
39:31
a lot of the, and then we have so much talent
39:35
in Austin. We have one of the best comedians,
39:37
I think in the country or, you know, in the world
39:41
and Derek Poston and Assan Ahmad, Dylan Sullivan
39:45
and Genevieve Oland. And you know, we have all
39:48
these. great comedians that you could just sit
39:51
and watch and learn so much from. And I love
39:55
that I'll have to follow like Ari Mati, who's
39:57
one of the greatest, one of the best comedians
40:00
in the world. And we debuted as rotating regulars
40:05
the same episode. And I always think, I always
40:08
think about it as like LeBron James and Galanari,
40:13
the white mama. debuting the same episode. It's
40:17
like you have one of the greatest world talents
40:19
and then you got me. But like, we have so much
40:25
talent in Austin and people that come through
40:30
that you just get to learn from, like Ray Lau
40:33
and like Ron Taylor. Oh yeah, he's just here,
40:36
Ray Lau. Sorry. Yeah, Ray Lau's amazing. And
40:39
then you got guys that come through like Andre
40:42
Kim and It's just incredible. Like learning.
40:48
I love Austin because people want to shit on
40:51
it because I think it's all edgy humor. And that's
40:54
because you don't look at it. Everything going
40:56
on. You see kill Tony and you just want to say,
40:59
well, that's, that's all Austin offers. And I'm
41:01
like, I can show you so many great, talented
41:04
comedians like Freddie Dulles, like, uh, uh,
41:09
my buddy, Dusty Carter. Uh, my, my buddy Sam
41:13
Hunter, Alex Olinger, Robert Tabbitt, uh, Matthew
41:17
Waymost, like a bunch of talented comedians that
41:21
you haven't seen that are, that are very technically
41:24
sound, that don't just rely on shock humor, that
41:26
are very funny. I mean, and then you got some
41:29
guys like Hans Kim, Enrique Chacon, David Lucas.
41:33
I mean, I can, I can go on and on about all the
41:37
funny people that are in Austin that people just
41:40
don't. understand how great they are because
41:42
they, they watch a minute clip and they, they
41:47
think they know what's, what they're all about.
41:49
Right. Yeah. Shout out Colin Sledge and timely
41:53
rain and JJ Alexander. Uh, we all went on tour
41:57
and Tony Scott, we all went on tour together
41:59
and we were doing 15s. And it was so much fun
42:02
just seeing us develop new material and see new
42:05
strategies. It was awesome to just see. We were
42:09
doing eight shows and seven days, and we were
42:12
just rolling. Just going and flowing, dude. Yeah.
42:17
Man, that is awesome, dude. Is there an area
42:20
of the country that you like to perform in the
42:22
best? I love the Midwest. Midwest is probably
42:25
my favorite. They must love you knowing that
42:28
you come from Washington, huh? Well, the Midwest
42:31
and the South love kill timing. So that's where
42:33
I get the majority of my bookings. is in those
42:36
two areas. I haven't gotten the West Coast looking
42:38
really other than like my hometown and Seattle
42:41
and Tacoma. But like the Midwest is always fun.
42:46
The South is always fun. I've done a couple of
42:49
shows in Ohio and Michigan and I did the Upper
42:54
Peninsula of Michigan and that was fun. There
42:56
was like four feet of snow. Wow. And we were
43:01
all. My AirPods got ran over at the gas station.
43:06
Oh, shit. I was fighting a headache and then
43:10
I had an energy drink and there were a couple
43:13
of people before me and I was like, I'm about
43:15
to have the set of my life. Then I had one of
43:18
my favorite sets I've had in the last year or
43:21
so. Oh, wow. I've had a lot of fun doing the
43:27
Midwest and the South. Then when I get to go
43:31
to New York every once in a while, it's always
43:33
fun. It's always fun to go to a new area and
43:36
just see the different types of comics that are
43:39
there too. I like to hang. Do you do anything
43:42
in a newer area to scope out the crowd that it's
43:46
going to be or anything like that, or do you
43:48
just wing it and just feel them out as it goes,
43:51
as you go? Well, if I'm not opening the show,
43:54
I'm watching the show, I'm seeing what's hitting,
43:57
what's not. Okay, this crowd likes dark humor.
44:00
I can go dark Oh this crowd wants something fun
44:03
and more family -friendly and more. They're not
44:06
They're not that type of audience Okay, I got
44:10
a couple things for there. I got a couple jokes.
44:12
I think that'll really hit Yeah, so it's like
44:15
you you kind of I just pay attention during the
44:18
show Yeah, paying attention during the show if
44:21
you're an experienced comic you should be able
44:24
to adjust to what they want Yeah, yeah So, man,
44:29
like, so me, like, growing up, I was always kind
44:31
of a class clown kind of thing, like, very typical
44:34
kind of kid, you know. I love making people laugh,
44:37
you know, always. It's like, there's a very big
44:39
difference, I think, between, like, people who
44:40
are funny and then people who do, like, stand
44:42
up, you know what I mean? But, like, why comedy,
44:45
man? Like, why did you choose, like, this path
44:48
as, like, this is where I need to go? I like
44:51
making people happy. And I also, after my head
44:56
injury, it was like, I didn't feel like I could
44:58
be a contributing member of society at that point.
45:02
And I was really having a hard time finding a
45:06
place to belong. And I had been doing comedy
45:10
for like three years. And at that point I was
45:12
like, I don't know if I need to be on the earth
45:15
anymore. And then I was like, you know what?
45:17
I love comedy. I love doing it. I know I'm not
45:20
getting the results I want, but if I put a lot
45:23
more effort into it and really focus on trying
45:26
to get better. What could happen? Right. Let
45:30
me give myself two years doing that. And I was
45:34
like three months away from my two -year mark
45:37
when I got pulled on Kill Tony. And now we're
45:42
doing what we do. So it's like I want to make
45:44
people happy. I like giving people a reason to
45:49
have fun no matter what's going on in their lives
45:52
for that. For the amount of time I'm on stage,
45:55
I'm there to let their problems go away. I'm
45:58
there for them to have fun, to enjoy themselves,
46:01
and kind of just understand that time is one
46:05
of the greatest currencies we have. So when someone
46:08
comes to see you, they're giving their time to
46:10
you. And I think I take that really seriously.
46:15
And that's why I think I'm really hard on myself
46:17
when it comes to uh, man, I don't feel like I
46:21
did great or, uh, oh man, I didn't do great on
46:24
the set. I'm very hard on myself because I know
46:26
they took time to see and watch me. Yeah. When,
46:31
okay, so what does like a shitty set for you
46:35
look like, um, you know, versus like a great
46:40
set, you know, like what, what are some things
46:42
in your mind that you're just like, I hope, I
46:43
hope I walk off the stage with this today. If
46:47
the audience is fully engaged and having fun,
46:49
everyone's smiling, you know, when I get off
46:51
stage, everyone's pumped, the energy's still
46:54
there, then I'm happy. But like, I've had times
46:58
where it's like, oh, you know that awkward energy.
47:03
When you do bad, you know that awkward energy
47:05
because everyone's like, oh man, we just survived
47:07
that. When the comics were going on after you
47:12
were like, oh. I've been there, done that, you
47:16
know? Yeah, like when they're like, you know,
47:19
oh, fuck, dude, they're not too good, man. Have
47:21
you ever had an instance of like turning a room
47:23
around who was just like cold? Yeah, I mean,
47:26
I do that a lot. Hell yeah. Where, you know,
47:31
there'll be less season time and they go on before
47:34
me and they don't read the room or they're doing
47:37
material that's not adjacent to the room and
47:40
people aren't there. They're stepping over their
47:43
punches. They're nervous. And then I'll go up
47:46
there and then I just turn that room around because
47:49
I'm giving them the energy they want. I'm reading
47:52
the room. I'm having fun. They're having fun.
47:55
I'm getting them involved. I'm trying to give
47:59
them the best experience possible. And then I
48:01
turn that room, like that launch show. There
48:05
was a couple of comics that were newer and they
48:09
weren't picking up. the room very well. But that's
48:13
okay. You know, like being on shows, you're going
48:16
to get better. And I don't get mad at that type
48:19
of stuff anymore. Right. Because I understand
48:20
that's part of the journey for them and for us
48:23
in comedy. And it gets me better when I have
48:26
to work to get them. Yeah. And carry it over.
48:30
And I crushed that set. Yeah. You just walked
48:35
away feeling victorious. Yeah. Or like when you
48:38
follow a killer. when you follow someone that
48:41
wrecks the room. There's a mothership comic named
48:46
Kristoff, who's a monster. And about a year ago,
48:50
I did Filthy Show at Creek and he wrecked the
48:56
room. And I was like, I gotta go next. And this
48:59
was right after the Nashville episode had aired.
49:02
So everyone was like, oh no. And so I had a chip
49:06
on my shoulder. I was like, I need to murder
49:09
tonight. And he went on and killed him. I was
49:13
like, how am I going to do this? And then I got
49:15
on stage and I just ripped. And I just was on
49:19
all five cylinders. It's probably one of my favorite
49:21
sets I've ever done. following a killer like
49:25
an Ari Matty or a Derek Poston or a Son of Mar.
49:29
You're like, oh shit, I got to follow that? Yeah.
49:33
Or like a Holtzman where you're like, what? I
49:36
got to follow this? Dude, I couldn't imagine
49:39
following Brian Holtzman. He's one of the nicest,
49:43
kindest people in the comedy community. He's
49:48
just a breath of fresh air. He's great. Yeah.
49:50
And when he's on stage, he's just ripping. He's
49:53
just having fun. He's doing the, he's, he's what
49:58
I want to be in, you know, 10, 20 years. I want
50:02
to be the guy who's just having fun on stage,
50:05
enjoying what he's doing and just being his authentic
50:08
self. That's what I want. Hell yeah. Cause he's
50:10
the fucking man. He's, he really is somebody
50:14
that I look up to and like Brody Stevens was
50:17
the same way. I loved Brody. He, we're talking
50:20
about influences. I love Brody. Uh, if you don't
50:25
know who he is, look him up. He's, he's amazing.
50:27
Incredible, incredible comedian. Oh, yeah, man.
50:30
Well, that kind of that brings me to like my
50:32
next thing. Basically, we got like, you know,
50:34
this is like last like 10 minutes. You know,
50:36
man, what's a do? What are your goals now, man?
50:39
Like, you know, it seems like it seems like you've
50:41
done a wonderful job with, like, you know, just
50:44
recovering from the ups and downs and everything
50:46
like that. Like, what is looking forward to?
50:50
What does that look like for you? I just want
50:52
to keep doing shows. Oh, yeah. I want to sell
50:54
more like any other comedian. I want to sell
50:57
more tickets. I want more people. to come to
51:00
a show and enjoy it and, uh, be a little bit
51:03
more business savvy. I want to be able to get
51:05
him an manager and an agent. Um, I want to get
51:09
to that, that next step of. Dude, I'm surprised
51:12
you already don't have one. I'm sorry. No, but
51:14
you know, it's all, it'll come when it needs
51:19
to. It'll come when it needs to. And I, I get
51:21
frustrated at it sometimes because I'm like,
51:24
damn, nobody's reached out, but it's like. that
51:27
it'll come when it needs to, just need to keep
51:30
working, keep getting better, understanding the
51:34
business side of things. So when I do get a manager
51:36
and an agent, I know exactly where I'm at. I
51:39
know what a good deal is and I know what a bad
51:41
deal is. So when I do get a manager and an agent,
51:44
I know what's going on and I can kind of gauge
51:47
it. So I know they're not ripping me off. I know
51:50
that I'm not in a bad place. So it's like, I
51:52
want to get an agent and a manager. I want to
51:55
be able to keep touring. I want to sell more
51:57
tickets, get better shows. Um, and you know,
52:03
in the next five, three to five years, I want
52:06
to go to New York. I want to live the dream over
52:09
there. I want to be a working comic to the point
52:11
where I can live afford to live in New York and
52:17
be able to fly, you know, twice a month to do
52:20
gigs around the country. Be able to still keep
52:24
sharpening my short. my sword and keep enjoying
52:28
life and enjoying being on stage and finding
52:32
new ways to create material and to be better
52:36
on stage. Just keep working. Just keep working,
52:39
dude. So why New York? I mean, it seems pretty,
52:41
you know, but like why not LA or something like
52:43
that? Because New York, the times I've been to
52:46
New York, I've had so much fun. Oh, yeah. I've
52:49
been to New York twice. Last year, I went to
52:52
New York and I did. 25 mics in five days. 25
52:57
mics and shows in five days. Dang, you did like
53:00
five mics a night kind of thing? Yeah, I enjoyed
53:03
that. And I enjoyed the grind of that. And I
53:06
feel like that's just the next stop in my journey.
53:10
I've always been kind of a gypsy where I move
53:13
after a little bit of time. And so, you know,
53:17
three to five years, it'll be, you know, five
53:19
to seven years in Austin, and then I can move
53:21
somewhere else. find a wife and a family here.
53:28
Who knows, man. Exactly. It's like, I want to
53:33
go there and have a good time and develop more
53:37
and meet new people. It's New York City. It's
53:40
the greatest city in the world. I feel like I
53:44
don't want to go to LA. I feel like LA is follower
53:47
focused. I just don't feel like I'd probably
53:51
fit in in LA. And I want to go there and maybe
53:53
I'll love LA. Right. But you never know. Yeah.
53:57
I never, like, for some reason I can never wrap
53:59
my head around, like, living in LA. And I don't
54:03
know why. Like, I don't know what it is. There's
54:05
something about it where I'm just like, dude,
54:06
I don't want to go there. But I could go to New
54:08
York. You know? I just, I kind of see the difference,
54:13
man. But I don't know. I feel like... Because
54:15
I lived in Dallas, Dallas and New York are similar
54:18
in a way where if you have any sort of interest
54:21
or you want to do anything, you can find it in
54:24
Dallas or New York. Yeah. I don't think it's
54:27
the same way in LA. In Dallas? Wow. But yeah,
54:32
you don't think it's the same way in LA, huh?
54:33
I don't think if I was like to really get into
54:36
playing knee -geo again, I could find a... a
54:39
big Yu -Gi -Oh community or if I wanted to do
54:43
some, some really, really niche interest. Yeah.
54:47
I don't think I could find that in LA, but I
54:49
can find that in New York, because that's why
54:51
I love Dallas when I lived there for five years,
54:54
is because if you wanted to do anything, you
54:57
could find, you could find a community of people
55:01
that love doing that also. Yeah. Yeah. It's a,
55:05
have you ever been to Mages over there? Mages
55:07
Sanctum? No. Dude, somehow fucking place has
55:12
like has come like to like it's just made many
55:16
appearances here because there are a lot of people
55:18
who like. I've had one who liked cards and who
55:20
liked, you know, comic books and things like
55:22
that. And this is totally not like a fucking
55:24
plug, like a promise, it's not like a plug or
55:26
anything like that. But yeah, they have this
55:28
place over there, Mage of Sanctum, and they have
55:30
all those cards and stuff like that, like Yu
55:33
-Gi -Oh cards. I don't know anything about that
55:36
kind of stuff, but I've heard you mention that
55:37
before. What is it? I used to play, so it's a
55:40
trading card game and it's based on an anime.
55:43
uh, little Saturday morning cartoon. And this
55:46
is strategy. I can't play it again because I
55:48
don't, I don't have enough time. Yeah. Cause
55:52
it's a lot. Like, uh, I keep up with it. I still
55:56
watch like YouTube videos on it. So I know what's
55:58
going on, but like, I can't play it anymore.
56:00
Cause I just don't have the time. You don't have
56:02
the time. Is it like, is it like, uh, it's really
56:05
involved. It's so, it's so strategic and there's
56:09
so much that goes into it. I, I enjoyed it. when
56:13
I was playing, but I haven't played in probably
56:16
six years now. Yeah. So a long time, huh? Yeah.
56:20
And it's expensive. It's like three to $400 to
56:24
get a deck. What? Yeah. Dude. But I love it,
56:26
man. I miss it so much. And I play the mobile
56:30
game on a little bit when I miss it. What is
56:34
it comparable to? Like that's popular. Magic,
56:37
of course I'm on. Fuck. Dude, I was like, please
56:40
don't say magic. It's a better game than magic.
56:45
I was like, please don't say magic. Cause I was
56:46
like, dude, I don't know anything about magic.
56:49
Cause like it's a better game than magic. Cause
56:51
there's a lot more, there's a lot more strategy
56:54
to it. It's not as linear as magic. I think once
56:58
there's a really, really good deck in magic,
57:01
then it's just there, but you can be creative
57:04
when it comes to Yu -Gi -Oh. Oh, okay. Yeah,
57:08
dude, I wish I knew what that meant. You know,
57:12
like the whole thing. I just never, I just never
57:14
got into it. I have nothing against like those
57:16
kinds of things. I just never got into it. You
57:18
know, like, uh, I want to say, no, nevermind.
57:22
No, I was about to say, I want to say my brother
57:23
was in like Pokemon, but then I'm like, I don't,
57:25
I don't know if he was like the card game. I
57:27
think it was like the video game. The video game
57:30
is like learning a foreign language, like trying
57:32
to learn how to play the video game now. It's
57:35
so complicated. There's so many like. Levels
57:38
to everything and it's like you can't just play
57:40
your favorite Pokemon you have to play There's
57:42
like maybe 12 to 15 Pokemon that are good Out
57:47
of the thousands that are on there and you kind
57:49
of have to make your best team for that You ever
57:51
did that go thing where like the Pokemon go?
57:54
I don't want I walk but I also was like I never
57:59
got into that trend. Okay when I was in the Navy
58:02
dude, it was like I want to say like, oh, nine.
58:05
I think that's like when it kind of started coming
58:06
out or something. It was like 15 or 16. 15 or
58:10
16? Yeah. Oh, they were into something, something
58:13
with Pokemon. And they kept trying to get me
58:15
to do it. And I was just like, I don't know what
58:17
the fuck a Pokemon is, dude. Like, where do I
58:19
get one? You know, I was in, I was all the, it
58:23
was like all this thing, dude. But it's like,
58:25
it's like the, I don't know, all those little
58:27
things like that. Like that's what makes it happen.
58:29
You know what I mean? Like that's like, that's
58:31
the good shit right there, dude. Like. Uh, I
58:33
like, as you can see, I love like little like
58:36
toys, like knickknacks and shit like that. Like,
58:39
I just get like little things. Like that's my
58:41
little thing. This is like my Yu -Gi -Oh. Hell
58:43
yeah. You know what I mean? That's always true.
58:45
Yeah. What is something that like, uh, about
58:48
yourself that would surprise people? Dude, I
58:50
am really into boxing. Uh, I think people don't
58:54
understand that like boxing is like my, it's
58:57
my favorite sport. I'm really knowledgeable about
59:00
it. Really? Yeah. So are you a boxer? No, no,
59:03
I just like to watch it. My dream outside of
59:07
comedy would be to be a commentator on boxing
59:10
because I love boxing so much and I'm always
59:14
watching it on the weekends. I was watching on
59:16
Saturday. I did my two spots and I was like,
59:18
I'm going to go home. I'm going to pay too much
59:21
money for a drumstick from 7 -Eleven, like an
59:24
ice cream drumstick, and I'm going to go watch
59:26
the fights. And I watched the fights. I was having
59:29
a good old time. So I love boxing. I'm very knowledgeable
59:33
about it. I watch every weekend, and it's kind
59:38
of like my little passion on the side. Hell yeah,
59:41
dude. So do you have a favorite boxer right now?
59:44
So my favorite boxer is this Dutch boxer. I think
59:48
he's 12 and 0. He's a light heavyweight boxer.
59:51
His name's Gratis Kraus. He's my favorite. And
59:55
then I have guys like Moises Saitama. Um, Jai
59:59
Appataya, David Benavides, um, Genevick Annamali,
1:00:03
uh, who's suspended right now, but, but, uh,
1:00:09
but then, but, uh, then I, then I liked Mark
1:00:11
Chamberlain who's a British domestic boxer. Um,
1:00:15
like I just watched so much boxing and I have
1:00:17
so many people that I like to watch and I follow
1:00:19
and I actually, uh, I was looking through my
1:00:24
requests and this, uh, Polish boxer. Um, then
1:00:29
I, then I was a fan of he, he, he was like, Hey,
1:00:33
love seeing you get better on Kiltani. I was
1:00:35
like, no way you like me. This is insane. And
1:00:41
he was just like, why you? And I was like, yeah,
1:00:45
I'm a big boxing guy and I've got to, and I've
1:00:47
gotten to meet like Kelly Pavlik. I got to talk
1:00:50
to him on the phone and he's, he's a man, you
1:00:53
know, so it's like, it's so surreal. But I love
1:00:56
boxing. Boxing is just kind of the thing I like
1:00:59
to watch and realize. I try to do shit. I try
1:01:08
to, like, if there's a show and I'm doing boxing,
1:01:11
you'll see me watch a boxing before my show.
1:01:13
I'm like, I'm watching this fight. Yeah. Hell
1:01:15
yeah, dude. I don't think, I hope I'm not going
1:01:19
to get this wrong, dude. But like back in New
1:01:22
Orleans, I was like... I worked in radio for
1:01:26
a little while, right? And they had this guy,
1:01:29
Macky Shulstad, who's from New Orleans. And I
1:01:32
hope that's his name. I kind of forgot because
1:01:34
it was so long ago. But anyway, so like I go
1:01:37
to on Canal Street and they had this guy who
1:01:41
is boxing. It was the first time I ever seen
1:01:43
any like boxing stuff. And it was pretty insane
1:01:45
because they had a whole ring and... like dedicated
1:01:48
to just him. And he was like in there just shadow
1:01:50
boxing. That's all he was doing, I guess. And,
1:01:52
you know, and so I ended up meeting this guy
1:01:54
and it was, it was Bernard Hopkins. Yeah. That's
1:01:58
insane. Yeah. Yeah, dude. It was, it was pretty
1:02:01
crazy, but I, dude, I love boxing, but I'm not
1:02:04
like, I'm not one of those super, super fans
1:02:06
really. Like, I don't, I don't remember people's
1:02:08
names and stats and things like that, but when
1:02:09
I'm, but when it's on, you know, like I watch
1:02:12
it, you know, like it's, it's like, it's awesome.
1:02:15
Do you have a favorite boxing movie at all? Oh,
1:02:18
I love Southpaw. Southpaw? Yeah. Yeah. Southpaw's
1:02:21
so good. Southpaw's really good. I'm trying to
1:02:25
think. There's a movie that just came out. It's
1:02:30
called The Cut. The Cut. And it has Orlando Bloom.
1:02:35
Orlando Bloom? Yes. And he's a boxer trying to
1:02:38
make weight. And it's got a bunch of really good
1:02:42
characters, really good actors in it. Huh. And
1:02:46
it's just about this boxer trying to cut weight.
1:02:48
And it's like this crazy, it's not like a boxing
1:02:52
focused movie because you don't see a lot of
1:02:55
boxing in it, but it's such a crazy, crazy movie.
1:03:00
I think if you watch it, you'll be like, whoa,
1:03:03
what the? What the fuck did I just watch? The
1:03:06
cut, okay. The cut. All right, dude, I'm gonna
1:03:08
look that up and run it down right now. Because
1:03:10
you don't even see that Orlando, you see him
1:03:13
and you're like, that's Orlando Bloom. That's
1:03:15
Orlando Bloom and Onion? Holy shit. Dude, I think
1:03:19
my favorite boxing movie is Cinderella Man. Oh,
1:03:23
Paul Giamatti. Yeah. Man, that performance by
1:03:28
Paul Giamatti is one of the greatest supporting
1:03:31
actor performances of all time. Dude, I agree.
1:03:34
Man, that's so good. So good. They both were.
1:03:38
They both were. Russell Crowe. Russell Crowe,
1:03:42
Paul Giamatti, Renee Zellweger. Man, I love that
1:03:47
movie so much. It's just a good all -around movie.
1:03:49
You don't have to be a fan of a boxing to even
1:03:52
enjoy it. It's just a good movie. You know, but
1:03:55
hey man, dude, that's about, that wraps it up,
1:03:58
man. I appreciate you, brother. Thank you so
1:03:59
much for coming on, man. Thanks for having me,
1:04:01
man. This was a good time. Good, dude. I'm glad
1:04:03
you have fun, dude. And keep fucking going with
1:04:06
it. Keep kicking ass like you always do, man.
1:04:08
But thank you so much for coming on, brother.
1:04:10
Thanks for having me. All right. And that's it.
1:04:12
That's a wrap. Adios.